Barbarin / PARENTAL COPING Do Parental Coping, Involvement, Religiosity, and Racial Identity Mediate Children’s Psychological Adjustment to

Many African Americans with sickle cell disease (SCD) also experience signifi-cant economic hardship. Yet, few studies of the psychosocial effects of SCD em-ploy designs robust enough to control socioeconomic factors. This study com-pares the functioning of families with SCD to that of healthy controls matched for race and socioeconomic status. In general, functioning within SCD and control families did not differ. However, parents granted less autonomy to, and were less involved in the schooling of, children with SCD. Overall, SCD had a greater im-pact on children’s social and academic competence than on their emotional func-tioning. However, adolescents with SCD and their siblings were at greater risk for mental health difficulties than were controls. The more SCD interfered with living normally, the greater the risk of psychological dysfunction. Importantly, emotional well-being in parents moderated the adverse effects of SCD on chil-dren. Similarly, racial consciousness, religiosity, and emotional support en-hanced parental coping. The social and physical strains associated with chronic childhood diseases often have been noted in the clinical records of pediatric health care settings. These notes often reflect concerns about developmental impairments that AUTHOR’S NOTE: The University of Michigan Family Development Project study of adjust-ment to sickle cell disease was made possible by a the generous support of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant R01 HD23968). Gratitude is expressed to the families who generously gave of their time. Special thanks are given to Mary Ortega, who served as assistant director of the project, and to the many students in psychology and social work asso-ciated over the 5-year period of the study. Without their dedication and talents, this research would not have been possible